Third Time's the Charm
by LittleMissAfflicted
Summary: How many times does it take to get Lucy to believe him? Luckily for Natsu, it only takes him three. Three grueling, heart-breaking times. Natsu/Lucy. Lemon.


**Disclaimer:** Hiro Mashima owns the awesome that is 'Fairy Tail', and that is A-OK with me!

**Warnings:** Language. Adult stuff. A lemon that mutated into a mega-lemon xD If this bugs you, please run away now!

**AN:** Dear bestest-friend. Stop making me fall in love with a new series every other day. It's bad for my health. For my pockets. For my laptop, the poor, tired dear. :P (Kidding. YOU ROCK MY SOCKLESS TOES!)

**1)** This is very, very long. I apologize.

**2)** The pen-name does not lie. I'm not a guy, so keep in mind that writing from the perspective of one (and a fictional one, no less) was definately fun, but definately difficult. Oy vey...

**3)** I hope Natsu/Lucy fans don't hate me for this, haha... (I love them too. OODLES. Can't you tell?)

* * *

><p>The first time I tell Lucy that I like her, she doesn't believe me.<p>

I guess it doesn't help that by that point I'd already gone through a couple of mugs full of beer. Or that I couldn't remember how many of those were magically set ablaze, and how many were just plain, room-temp booze.

Guess being sprawled on her lap and drooling on her knee didn't make it very convincing, either.

* * *

><p>Everybody in the guild was already far gone, curled asleep wherever they'd landed. That's how it always is when we all get together to be loud for the hell of it. Maybe I hadn't had enough of it though, since I haven't really managed to knock out like everyone else. Not enough, but close to it, I figure, since the hard floor pressed against my back doesn't phase me at all. Even the stench of alcohol filling the air, most of it coming from the huge pile of kegs that only Kana could manage to leave behind, doesn't bother me any.<p>

My vision feels a little hazy, kinda fuzzy around the edges, and I try to blink it away with a yawn. You know, it makes your eyes go all teary and stuff. Clears 'em up. But even then everything looks like I'm looking at it from behind a curtain or something. Still fuzzy. Still a little hungover. Or drunk. Whatever.

I can make out a couple of broken things- scratches on the pillars, furniture torn to pieces, and cups thrown all over the place- but that's nothing new. Hell, that's our 'normal'. Go hard or get the hell outta the guild for the night. The only sound in the entire room is snoring. A lot of it, actually; loud rumbling from the men alongside the softer sighs of the girls. That and a soft tapping that I can hear reverberate against the floor. Footsteps. They're headed my way, too.

I'd have recognized them right away if I were a little less tired. Definitely. There's no mistaking the 'tap' of a heel with the way that Lucy walks. It sounds different. Couldn't explain it if I tried, though.

I blink and her face is looming right over me. Okay, well, first her tits, _then_ her face. By then I really wanna laugh at how her neck looks like it has to strain to let her look beyond them. Like she's looking over the horizon of a whole other world or something.

"Are you awake?" she asks quietly, waving a hand over my eyes. They're open, Lucy. I'm blinking at you. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm awake. At least I think so.

"Sleepy," I grumble at her, scratching a sudden itch on my stomach. Leave it to Lucy to be the only one awake and looking much more sober than the rest of us. Even Erza is out cold somewhere in here; I can pick out her scent and I'm sure that she probably went through just a single mug before giving in. Fairy Tail's scariest woman, a total lightweight. Go figure.

"You alright, Natsu?" Lucy is sitting beside me then, one leg stretched in front of her while the other is hiked up so she can press her cheek against a knee. The blue skirt she's wearing is just like the others- way too short. Luce, I can see your panties. They're so pink and white and frilly. She's such a girly freak. I mean, so are all the other girls in the guild, but only she lets it _show_ this much. Not that it matters; I've seen way too much of her collection by now. Hell, even Happy has.

I dismiss the thought with a yawn, and she chuckles.

"Wass soo funny, Luuuu-cee?" The sleepiness crawls into my voice and turns it into a really stupid-sounding drawl.

She stops to answer. "You are, dummy. Are you still drunk?"

"Dunno. Feel kinda tired, though. Why are you the only one who isn't? Big goody-goody." The laugh I give her is weak and rough, but I'm grinning just so she knows that I'm teasing her.

Lucy blushes, just a little. Pink, just like her panties. I swear she blushes over everything. I don't get it. But she says, "If I drank nearly as much as you, I wouldn't be able to make sure everyone's alright before heading home."

I don't expect that answer. Really, I don't, so all I can mutter is a quick, "Oh."

"But you're fine?" she asks again.

"Yeah… yep." I say it twice, because hopefully that'll make her believe me. I _am_ fine, but Lucy's that kind of person. The kind that worries a little too much even when they don't have to. Kind of an idiot.

It's like somebody's given her a sleeping potion, though, 'cause she's smiling so gently; it looks so soft and warm and dreamy that I wonder if _I'm_ dreaming for a second.

"I'm glad," she sighs at me, and pets the top of my head with a laugh that's more like her. Brighter, goofier, more like the Lucy I know. "If you're okay, I'm gonna go home now, alright?"

I just look at her. I think about what she said a few minutes before.

"…I wouldn't be able to make sure everyone's alright before heading home."

Not just me, but everyone.

Lucy, you're a weirdo, you really are. But you're strong, and you care a whole lot, don't you. Even when you're down for the count, even when all you can really do is be there, you'd rather that than nothing, huh. And you always do. You always stand right alongside everyone else. Even now, when it doesn't seem to matter.

"Okay, Natsu? Hellooo," she snaps her fingers. I just keep staring.

Lucy, you're such a freak. But you're so warm. And pretty, too. I guess I've never told you that, but I'm not about to feed that huge ego of yours.

You are, though. Especially right now. Your hair looks a little out of place, your brown eyes look kinda sleepy, and your expensive, black tank top really should be pulled up some, but you're still really pretty.

I like how you smell, Lucy. Like booze and perfume that probably cost you twice as much as that sorry piece of cloth that you consider a shirt. Like flowers, and sunrise. Yeah, you smell a lot like the sun, Luce. That's how much of a freak you are.

I like how you sound. I can hear your breath perfectly, in and out, deep and relaxed, completely at ease.

Lucy, I like how you look, too. Did you know that? I didn't. Never paid it any mind. But you have nice legs, and hips, and your arms are so thin and fragile looking. Sorta cute. Even your wrists, strong enough to open gates to a world none of us can see, are small. I can still see your thighs, too, and they look soft. So does that ridiculous rack of yours. You wouldn't be Lucy without that, would you.

But you know what I really like about you right now? You look confused as hell, but you're still smiling at me. You always smile at me, huh. Even when your pissed, or sad, or as exhausted as you probably are right now, you always manage to smile through it.

Hey, Lucy, maybe I'll tell you that I like all that stuff. That I like _you_. Right now, in fact.

"Lucy," I say as seriously as I can, turning over, but my body feels heavy. I crawl over to her lap and throw myself onto her.

Of course, she immediately protests. "Natsu! Just because you had too much to drink does _not_ mean you can use me as a pillow! C'mon. I wanna go home." The last part is really whiny.

"But Luce. Lucy. I gotta tell you something." I sigh again. My cheek is resting on her lap, the rest of me piled in some heap. I can't help the urge to yawn some more and it's like a dam giving way to a pool of babble that I didn't know I was holding in. She squeaks, "Ew! Natsu!" as a little shining line of it flows over the curve of her knee and drips onto the floor quietly.

"You're so gross! And your drool is really hot, too, what the hell…" are her complaints, but she bears it anyway. "What's this thing that you have to tell me."

"Luce, you know something?"

"Geez, you really drank tonight. What?"

What was I gonna tell her? Oh, right, that I like her. Yeah.

"I like you."

Her face goes absolutely blank, and she looks so pale that anyone would think she'd turned into a blonde ghost. It's so utterly like her that I _have_ to laugh and grin stupidly at her this time. I'm still chuckling with my head cradled in her lap when I say it the way that Happy does, with the extra roll of tongue:

"I liiiike youu, Lucy."

Her cheeks do look more rosy, but her expression changes. It's hard now; pinched. She looks like she's going to cry for some reason. What the hell happened? What's making you look like that? I fucking hate it when you cry, Lucy. It's no fun. Your smile is a million times better.

"Get up, Natsu. I… I'm going home. Don't drink so much next time." That voice is quivering. I can't hear it as well as I might if I wasn't like this, but it still sounds like a little dying trill against the thick booze-and-snore filled air.

"But-" I start to argue against that, but she cuts me off quickly.

"Goodnight."

It's all I hear before she sets me on the floor again and leaves. Her footsteps become faster. Her breath sounds a little more frantic, erratic, and then the entrance to the guild slams shut and she's gone.

It'd be better to chase her all the way home and sneak into her bed like I tend to do, I think. Lucy's bed is comfy and smells just like her. But damn, I can't move anymore, and the world fades to black as I close my eyes, and I can't even begin to remember what just happened. What I did. The epiphany that I just had to let slip while still somewhat wasted. Guess it can wait 'till tomorrow…

The first time I tell Lucy that I like her quickly becomes the second time, too. But it has some horrible timing, so she doesn't believe me at all.

* * *

><p>The third time I tell Lucy that I like her begins with recalling the first time.<p>

* * *

><p>I wake up and I can tell that I'm home. Or at least the mess that Happy and I like to call home. It's not that bad at the moment, not at all like it was before Lucy decided to break in and clean it (have I mentioned what a psycho that girl is?); only a few of my clothes are tossed on the floor. I'm resting on the couch instead of the hammock.<p>

"Natsu! G'morning!" Happy chirps at me as he dangles on one end of the couch before climbing over and tumbling onto my feet. I definitely don't remember when I took my sandals off… or my vest… or my pants either, but my scarf from Igneel is fine, so the rest loses importance.

"You flew me back home?" I ask him with a groggy smile.

"Aye! You were heavy with all that liquor in your tummy, Natsu."

Happy's wings emerge and he migrates north to said spot, falls on top of it, and pokes it with one of his paws. "You would look scary with a beer belly!"

"I don't drink all _that_ much, Happy," I laugh. It jostles the little blue guy, and he laughs along with me. "Give me a break. Thanks for bringing me back though. You're the best."

"The very best!"

"We'll go fishing later, and I'll catch you something huge. How's that sound?"

Happy looks like he has stars in his eyes as he rubs his paws together and specifies, "Aye, a huuuge one! With purple and yellow scales, and long whiskers!"

"Why does it have to look like that?" Purple? Yellow? I thought I'd agreed to catch him a fish, not a rainbow.

"That kind tastes good!"

"Whatever you say. Hey, you mind getting up for a sec? I usually fall asleep in my clothes… what the hell did I do last night?"

Happy hops off of me and decides to be helpful by handing me my vest. "Gray," he says as he gives it up with a snicker.

"What did that snow-cone-bastard do?" I. Will. Kill him.

The question only makes Happy giggle hysterically. "We got home and you started impersonating him. It was pretty good, too! Until you passed out anyway. Hey, Natsu!"

I sigh a breath of relief at the fact that I won't be having to march into Fairy Tail and light that snowman's head on fire. "Hmm?"

"Natsuuu, your clothes," he murmurs in a high-pitched voice. Ah, I get it, he's pretending to be Kana. I play along and look down at myself, making that same retarded face that Gray does when he finally becomes aware that he's parading around half-naked. Totally naked, when we're unlucky enough. That's all it takes to make my best friend the cat-mander even more giddy.

"Natsu! You're so stupid!" he rolls around the floor clutching his sides. I chuckle.

"At least I wasn't pretending to be a girl."

"I can pretend to be what I want! I don't fall under boy _or_ girl. I'm a cat!" Happy's logic is seriously amazing.

Once I have all of my clothes in order I decide it'd be better to take a bath first. I can definitely tell that I need one, 'cause even _I_ think that I reek. I stink like sweat and liquor and…

Lucy?

It's just a hint of it, but that's definitely Lucy's scent, sun-and-flowers, masked beneath all the stench. But how exactly did it get there?

"Hey, Happy. Did you see Lucy last night?"

He shakes his head rapidly. "No. She probably went home."

"Right... I'm gonna take a bath. What time is it?"

"Looks like it's noon already."

"Let's have lunch at the guild then, yeah? We can have the fish for dinner."

"Aye, sir!"

* * *

><p>One dip in the river later, Happy is floating beside me and looking kind of nervous as we head for the entrance to Fairy Tail.<p>

"What's up?"

"Natsu, do you think Charle will like it?" Happy pulls a fish out of his green knapsack. It definitely smells freshly-caught, the scales a sparkling silver wrapped in some red ribbon that's tied into a bow. How can Happy use his paws to tie stuff…?

"Why wouldn't she?" I ask him in return, "It's a fish, and she's a cat, same as you."

"But she always rejects them!" he stashes it away again. "She's so shy!" By now Happy's wings are fluttering instead of flapping. One day I'll have to ask how his fur blushes. It's really weird. I mean, c'mon, it's fur. _Blue_ fur.

"Well if she doesn't want it, eat it. Her loss." Waste not, want not, right?

"Aye, but- oh! Luuucy!"

Happy zooms over to Lucy before I can even spot her as we get inside the guild. He's flying in little circles above her head, happy as his name implies, crying "G'morning, Lucy!"

Lucy, Happy is attached to you. Like, really attached, almost as much as he is to me. You've known him for nearly six months, and I've been with him for six years, but somehow you've managed to make the time difference unimportant. He gets worried about you. He cried when we all thought that you left the guild, remember? The entire way over to your house, as a matter of fact. I don't get how a weirdo like you managed it, but it's true.

"Hey, Happy," she grins up at him. Lucy is sitting at a table with Gray, Juvia, and Erza. The ice cube is sitting on one side next to Juvia. I don't know why she keeps glancing at Gray, then Lucy, and then looking ridiculously focused. She might even be more weird than Lucy, come to think of it. There's a spot between her and Erza on the other side, but I decide it'd be a lot safer to sit next to Gray. At least I can get in a swing if he pisses me off.

"Natsu, come, sit."

Erza pats the spot beside her and I blink like an idiot. Gray smirks, Juvia looks confused, and Lucy is ignoring the entire situation. Happy's sitting right in front of her on top of the table and she's playing around with the tip of his tail.

"B-but I was gonna-"

"Sit." Oh, shit, she's glowering. My chance of refusal is right out the window now.

I really don't need to get the crap beat outta me by Erza, 'specially not when I'm this hungry, so I do what she says.

"Good morning Natsu," Erza flashes me one of her ironically peppy smiles. So damn scary, I tell ya.

"M-morning."

Gray speaks up next. "Finally shake it off, you brainless torch?"

"I've been up for hours you overgrown popsicle. Shut up. You passed out before I did, anyway." I grin at him and then stick my tongue out. Hell, I toss in a loud raspberry for good measure.

"Yeah? Well I drank more than you did."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not, you stupid snow monkey!"

"I did so, flaming idiot!"

I definitely had more! I know I did!

"Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama, but she fell asleep before the both of you and does not know who drank more. But she will side with you!" Juvia makes no sense. Ever. Sometimes I swear that her speech is made up of just three words: "Juvia", "Gray" and "sama". Sheesh.

I turn to Lucy, who's decided to scratch behind one of Happy's ears, and ask her, "Hey, Lucy, you were up! Who drank more?"

She doesn't even look at me. Just mumbles, "I don't know."

I take the time to look at her. Nothing wrong with how she's dressed. She's wearing another one of her (not surprisingly) low-cut shirts, black with tiny red hearts around a collar that joins at the back of her neck. A white skirt with tons of ruffles. Red stockings. Black boots. Hair looks the same as ever. Yep, her fashion sense is one hundred percent, typical Lucy.

Her expression bugs me though. She's chewing on her bottom lip and her cheeks are flushed. But what I find even more odd is that she looks kinda like Juvia does most of the time- a cross between frustrated, focused, and embarrassed.

"Hey, Luce, are you okay?"

I touch her shoulder and she flinches. Lucy actually flinches at me. At _me_, as if I was gonna hurt her.

"Yeah. Fine."

"Like hell you are. What's wrong?"

"Lucy," Happy looks up at her with wide eyes. "Will this make you feel better?" He snatches the fish from his knapsack again. The one he wrapped up for Wendy's cat, Charle, 'cept that he seems to have forgotten that fact.

Her smile is pretty good, but also pretty damn fake, too. She pets Happy's head. "Thanks, silly cat, but you keep it."

"Lucy," Erza begins. All of the sudden there's the quick sound of metal against hilt and there's a sword aimed right for Lucy's neck. "I must insist that you tell us what's wrong."

"You have to threaten me with a sword?"

"Ah," Erza looks at her own hand and then tucks the weapon away, "sorry. Force of habit." Yes, it really is. Erza's idea of solving a problem is usually to kick the living daylights out of it and then figure out the rest later. Hence why I go along with whatever she says most of the time. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like being killed by a girl.

"Now Lucy. What's wrong? You really do seem… off somehow."

"Thanks Erza, but really! It's nothing!" Lucy waves her hands and puts on a dopey grin.

"Quit the cute act, Lucy. Come on." For whatever reason, Juvia looks like a drooping plant right after Gray says that.

"Listen, it's nothing, really!"

She was louder than she thinks, 'cause we're all staring at her without a word. An excuse comes flying at us out of nowhere. "I-I'm gonna go. I just remembered something I have to do."

"_Appointment_?" I guess sarcastically as she gets up. She's running away and I know it. What I need to know is why. Lucy surprises me- scares me, actually- when she looks me dead in the eyes and shouts, "That's right!" She looks angry and hurt all at once and even though this seems strangely familiar I can't quite remember why that is.

"Wait a second! Lucy, what the hell is wrong with you?" I grab her hand. The one with the Fairy Tail mark, proof that she belongs here, stamped on top. Pink. So girly. So Lucy.

"Natsu, just leave me alone. I'm going home, okay?" Her voice is quiet but hard as stone.

"Not 'til you tell us what happened to you!"

Lucy, why are you looking at me like that? Like my hand on yours is hurting you, or something. What did I do? I thought we were friends! Why are you smiling at me when I can see the frown right under it? Who the hell do you think you're trying to fool?

"Nothing happened, Natsu, okay? I just have things to do. So… let go, alright?"

I don't even understand what's going on, and she takes the opportunity to slip her hand out of mine and leave. That feels familiar too. But I still can't think of _why_ it does.

Not everyone I know is here yet, but the people that are stare at me before a glare reminds them all to mind their own damn business. As soon as I sit back down I'm getting accusing looks from Erza and Gray.

"What did you do, hothead?"

"_Me_?" I really want to jump across the table and make Gray eat his own teeth; I wouldn't hurt Lucy!

Happy chimes in, "Aye. Lucy was mad at you." Erza gives me this look that seems to say 'The cat's right, idiot.'

"But I didn't _do_ anything." Tiny flames are sneaking out with my frustrated huffs of breath. Why the hell am I the bad guy, again?

"Perhaps Natsu did something bad to Lucy while he was drunk last night?" Juvia suggests suddenly. Gray seems to think it fine to answer that for me.

"Nah, he wouldn't try anything like that. Natsu is opposite-sex-challenged, after all." I don't even know what the hell they mean but it sounds like an insult to me.

"Hey, I-!"

Erza's sword is already blocking my path, a very unsafe, very sharp threat. "Sit. You obviously did something. If you're a real man then you'll assume responsibility and fix it." I bet she doesn't know that she sounded just like Elfman.

"I'll talk to her later. When she's cooled down." I mutter as I sit down. Again.

Happy sighs, "I don't like it when Lucy is like that, Natsu."

"Same here," Gray nods, and even Juvia looks a little upset as she agrees.

Lucy, did you know? When you smile, the whole guild smiles with you. It's the same thing when you frown, too.

* * *

><p>It's been a few hours, I've eaten, and people have been in and out to pluck jobs off of the board. Word's been spreading about Lucy.<p>

"Tell Lu-chan to feel better soon!" Levy tells me with a frown.

Wendy looks concerned as she smiles awkwardly, "She'll be okay, Natsu."

I watch Charle push Happy's gift away as she asks, "Where is that blonde friend of yours? I heard she was unwell."

Even Gazille shows that softer side that he thinks no one knows about when he says, "Tell the bunny-girl to cheer up when you see her."

The guild just isn't the same without Lucy, and I've had enough of it. I decide to go to her house. I bet she's holed up in there writing her book or curled up in a ball beneath her bed sheets.

"I'll get you that fish tomorrow, Happy, alright? I'm gonna go see what's wrong with Lucy now. Meet me there later."

"Aye!" Happy nods but then his eyes are back on Charle, who grabs the fish that he's still holding out to her and explains, "Just because I'm hungry, alright? Don't get the wrong idea!"

I leave the little guy to it and it doesn't take long before I've run past the bridge along the river and I'm standing in front of Lucy's house. The window is open. She never shuts it anymore. She knows it's how I choose to get inside. That open window means "Welcome home, Natsu".

Except that I climb through it and no one is home.

She isn't in bed. She isn't in the bathroom (after all that effort I made to look through a slit in my hands, too). She isn't sitting at her desk and scribbling away. She isn't yelling at me for being here and then letting me stay anyway. Lucy isn't home, so… neither am I.

I decide to wait. Well, that, and read some of her diary. I know where's she's been keeping it. Reading it has been on my 'to-do-if-Lucy-isn't-around-list'. I don't think it's an invasion of privacy at all. If she didn't want anyone to know then it shouldn't be on paper to begin with. And hey, maybe she wrote about what made her so angry last night!

Lucy thinks she's so clever. It's hidden behind a row of books on her shelf. Real great hiding spot, Luce. The diary isn't what I expect from her; a plain, leather bound book with pages that look a little yellow and worn. I start with the first entry:

* * *

><p><strong>Dear diary,<strong>

**I met this guy in Hargeon today. He's a complete freak, but he's also a mage from Fairy Tail! _The_ Fairy Tail, can you believe it? Fairy Tail's Salamander; that's what they call him. But his name is Natsu. His magic is incredible! He can attack, breathe, and even eat fire! Natsu has a scarf that looks like it's covered in scales, and funny salmon-pink hair, and he can't stand any type of transportation. He also has a strange blue cat with him, and it can talk and fly, too! His name is Happy. We're on our way to guild right now! I'm so nervous. I hope I can join it. I want to become someone worthy of my keys; a great celestial mage. Thank you, Natsu. For rescuing me from that terrible impostor today, and for giving me that chance I've been looking for.**

* * *

><p>I skip ahead a little bit.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Dear diary,<strong>

**I'm going on a job with not only Natsu and Happy, but Gray and Erza, also! Erza is truly scary so I guess I'm a little uneasy about it. But she's beautiful and strong and has a kind heart, too. Plus, she's really good at keeping Natsu and Gray in line. Although I guess it is a little fun to watch them argue. Fire and ice not getting along; it's so stupid and cute of them. You know what? I hope that I get to do lots of jobs with them! And I want to be useful to them, too! I want to grow strong enough to scare Natsu someday! =)**

* * *

><p>There are tears stains at the bottom of this one.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Dear diary,<strong>

**I love Fairy Tail with all of my heart. My dad is a terrible person, hardly a dad at all, and he had a dark guild come after me. For money. My life, in exchange for some jewels. In exchange for taking me away from my family. For hurting them. For that, I'm never, ever going to forgive him. They were so willing. All of them were so willing to protect me. They said I was a part of Fairy Tail. One of them. That it was all that mattered.**

**I was really scared when I fell off of a tower that they were keeping me in. You know who saved me, though? Natsu did. I thought I heard his voice so I threw myself off of it. In hindsight, I could've died. It really was a stupid thing to do on a whim. But I did it, because I knew that he would save me. Natsu, I owe you, and all of Fairy Tail, my life. I'm going to try even harder. I'm going to bleed with you, and cry with you, and smile with you, too. All of our hearts are one collective thing, and it's beautiful. Powerful. There's nothing that I would rather be a part of. I know now more than ever that I'm where I belong.**

* * *

><p>I flip closer to the end.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Dear diary,<strong>

**I found Natsu and Happy's house today! I was so sure that I could get revenge on them for sneaking into my house all of the time, but it didn't work out that way. When I went inside, the whole house was filled with souvenirs and objects that had a memory to offer.**

**There was a necklace from Galuna island, the fake Salamander's signature, even a pile of rubble from the meeting hall! And he also kept the poster from our first job together, and my maid outfit…**

**Still, it was a total pig-sty, so I couldn't help but clean it up. And then I waited for them to come home. They didn't, and it made me feel empty somehow. Lonely. I cried a little, too, because I had to wonder. I had to ask myself if this was what they felt when they had no one else to wait for but each other.**

**When I got home they were fast asleep on the floor against my bed. You know what Natsu mumbled in his sleep? "Lucy… come home already…" I have a house, but it's you and Happy that make it a home, Natsu. I REALLY wish that you would learn to knock but I guess it's something I'll learn to live with. Just make sure that you remember to come home to me, too, alright?**

* * *

><p>The last one written.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Dear diary,<strong>

**Natsu said something to me last night. While lying on my lap, still a little drunk, he said "I like you." He said it twice. I was surprised to find that it upset me. And I was even more surprised when I was honest with myself as to why that was.**

**I like Natsu. I like him more than I should. I like him more than a plain friendship allows. But I like that friendship, so I lie. I lie so that I can keep it there. It's selfish, isn't it, to want to keep him there beside me. But I do.**

**Natsu, you don't like me, but some part of me will always like you, really and truly. I'll always like that grin that shows off your fangs, and your rosy hair, and your dark eyes. I'll always like your stupid dances, and your fights with Gray, and your cluelessness, your determination, your will, and your vulnerability. I'll always like your warm hands, your raging flames, and everything you are, and will be. And even though I can't show you that part, it'll always be there with the rest of me. That's why it hurts. I know now, but I still can't tell you. I won't, because I want you to stay.**

**I wish you liked me too, you know. That you weren't so stupid! But that's what makes you so sweet. You are stupid, and you don't get it the way most people do. You get it the way Natsu does, and even if that means there are things you might never understand, I like that way just fine. Natsu… I really… can't say it. Not even here. Maybe I haven't grown. Maybe I'm a coward after all. I'm mad at me, and I'm mad at you too, idiot.**

* * *

><p>I stare at the last page for a really long time. By the time I decide to move, to remember how to breathe, I realize it's dark out. I slip the diary back into it's supposed hiding spot and inhale the scent in the house more deeply then I ever have. With that, I leap out of the window, following that invisible trail of sunny flowers. The scent that'll lead me straight to Lucy.<p>

Lucy, there's something that I have to tell you, again, and it can't wait anymore.

* * *

><p>Imagine my surprise when I track her back to my own house. I don't even know what to expect so I push the door in as carefully as I can. And there she is, just like that; the promised treasure at the end of a hunt, sleeping on top of the couch.<p>

I've never seen Lucy sleep like this. Usually she sleeps straight, neatly, with her hands at her sides. Right now she has her knees pressed to her chest and her head buried against her arms. It looks like she was trying to dissapear. Like maybe, if she kept curling up, she'd be able to hide within herself or something. Lucy's weird enough to try something like that.

A little groan leaves her mouth and she's squirming. Fingers are gripping the couch so hard that it ought to be screaming in pain. Lucy must be having a nightmare, so I walk over to her and kneel on the ground so that I can wake her up. I run my hands through her hair and call her name quietly so I don't scare her. I bet she'd go crazy and kick me right in the jaw if she woke up and didn't recognize me. Wouldn't want that. I may be a dragonslayer, but there's no immunity to broken jaws that comes with the magic.

"Hey. Wakey-wakey." I'm shaking her just a little to try and get her to open her eyes. Her breath is crazy, way too fast, and she suddenly pops up like a scared jack-in-the-box. Her eyes are glazed over and her skin is a little sweaty. She looks down at me like she can't believe I'm there and even though I know what I _want_ to say, I have no clue what I _should_ say.

I wind up saying nothing at all. Lucy doesn't give me a chance to. The brown of her eyes goes from misty to watery and in seconds flat, she's crying.

"Lucy, hey, don't. C'mon, you can punch me as many times as you want to, but don't cry. You haven't even let me tell you how messed up your hair looks yet. Save the tears for that!"

Humor isn't a good idea. She's crying even harder now. The Lucy-smell doesn't go well with the moist, salty scent of tears that seem to have no intention of stopping.

"I was kidding! Lucy." I sit beside her but I don't touch her. I want to. Isn't that funny? I want to touch you, Lucy. Really bad. You can curl up into me, instead, and at least that way if you do dissapear, I'll still have you.

"Lucy, I'm sorry."

"Y-You should be! I d-don't care if y-you were d-d-drunk! It was a stupid t-thing to say, even as a j-joke!" Fierce as ever, persistent as ever, and loud as ever, she shouts at me but still refuses to look me in the eyes. "But I'm s-sorry, too!"

"For what?" Getting the couch a little wet? It's _my_ couch we're talking about here. It'll be dry by the time I'm done rolling on it later.

A deep breath calms her enough that Lucy's able to speak without the stutter. "I snuck into your house. And I was mean to you earlier at the guild, even though you had no idea why I was feeling angry at you. You still don't. I'm definitely not a nice friend…"

"Can you tell me what I said to you last night?" I ask her quietly. She gasps and shakes her head.

"You really won't tell me?"

"No!"

You're more stubborn than most people would think, Lucy, but now isn't a good time for all of that. I know this'll go absolutely no where unless I do something about it.

"So then maybe I should remind you. Stop talking to the floor and look at me, Lucy."

It's a little funny how she shivers. As if looking at me would kill her or something. Way to make a guy feel trusted.

"I-"

"Please? If you don't, I'll… um… I'll tickle you! I'll tickle 'till you die!" Yeah, my eyes can't kill her (I'm not that chick Evergreen, after all) but a tickle attack definitely can.

"You wouldn't!" She looks up at me, finally. Ooh, wrong answer there, Lucy.

"EEEEE! GETOFFGETOFFGET-! NATSU!"

My fingertips are attacking her sides everywhere. Lucy looks hilarious: cheeks are all puffed up like a frog's and her arms are flying everywhere, and she's caught between crying and laughing like a maniac.

"You gonna tell me now? Huh?" I tickle her faster, hoping she'll give in before she puffs up too much and explodes. Or something like that.

"NO! S-STOP IT, IT-!" She howls with another half-laugh, half-sob.

"I'll stop if you tell me!"

"C-Can't breathe!"

The way she wheezes that makes me worried enough that I stop. With a shaky sigh Lucy pants and lets herself go limp as a noodle against the arm of the couch. My fingers are still on her hips and stomach. Wow, she's soft… and warm.

"Natsu," she croaks, "what… what the hell is wrong with you…" It'd be a scream if she could manage it. I know it would.

"I'd have stopped if you'd told me. But you know what? I think I remember what I said after all."

"Eh?"

There goes that blush, cherry-red this time, and all I can do is smile. 'Cause Lucy looks _so _pretty right now. Somehow all that messed up golden hair and the way her chest keeps bouncing as she tries to catch her breath makes me feel… really funny. This here is the real Lucy- imperfect and lost and the best thing that I could ever hope to find.

"Hey, stupid," I look at her seriously now, looming above her. The opposite of last night, if memory serves. Might have to ask Gray to remember for me when I see him to be sure though.

"I like you, Lucy."

Lucy, you're speechless again. I think your breathing stopped all together, 'cause I can barely hear a breath leave your mouth. Your lips are really pink and smooth. Never thought about kissing anyone before now. Seemed like a really pointless (and kind of gross) thing to do. But I don't think kissing you would be so bad, Lucy, so I'm gonna try it.

And I do.

I don't even know if this is right, but I press my lips to Lucy's and… well, kiss her, I guess. Now she's so red that she looks like a big-headed tomato with the roundest brown eyes I've ever seen. Gimme a break. It's my first kiss, Luce. I can't suck at this all _that_ much.

I pull away and she still won't say anything. Sitting there and looking at me in so much shock that I wonder if my tickling really has killed her. But then she says my name, softly, "Natsu…", and I kiss her again. Her jaw. Her cheek. Her forehead. I can almost feel the sun-and-flowers of her skin rub against my lips.

I laugh almost nervously. "I'm sorry, Luce. I was kinda drunk last night, but I didn't lie to you. When do I ever _really_ lie to you, you dope? So…"

"So?"

"Well? Ain't you gonna tell me that you like me too? Or I don't know… something?"

You're still totally red when you blink at me and whine, "B-but-!"

Hmn. Yeah, you do have a nice butt, Lucy. Screw the people who keep telling you to go on a diet. I like it just fine, no kidding. But that's really not the point. Stop trying to distract me!

"Well? It's no fair if you don't say it back! Luuuuce!" I'm whining at her too. I really can't take it anymore. This is like going on a job and then getting no reward. An unequal exchange that's starting to make my heart feel like it's going to give up on me. Don't let me die, Lucy. That wouldn't be fair, and it would sure suck for me, too.

"Natsu," Lucy looks at me. She's smiling. Lucy Heartfilia has the best, warmest, most honest smile of anyone that I've ever known. Like she's giving all of herself to you when she does it. To me, right now.

"Natsu, I like you too."

"How much?" My question sounds way more desperate and ragged than I want it to. Lucy reaches out to touch the hair on the back of my neck. She hesitates, the warmth of her hand making the hair stand on end, but once her fingertips touch me the rest follows suit. Fingers, palm and wrist are resting against it. She starts playing with my hair and it feels incredible. Gentle. It makes something in my chest rumble, almost hum.

"A lot!" Chocolate-brown has never looked as intense as it does while she says it. The moment is gone as soon as she touches higher on my scalp- it makes that rumble leave my mouth. I can purr as well as roar. Who woulda guessed.

That makes her laugh. Makes it seem like this is nothing new. But it is, and it's more 'new' than I know what to do with. My thoughts are making my cheeks flush, just a little, and I can feel it. I feel like a pervert for thinking that I really want to kiss Lucy again. But everywhere. I wouldn't mind if this was one of those days when I've busted into her house and find her in just a towel.

I like you a lot too, Lucy. So much that I don't even know what to do right now. So much that I want to make you _feel_ it. But when you like someone that much, doesn't it become more than just 'like'?

I would destroy anyone who hurt you, Lucy. I would do anything to get you to smile. Remember that rainbow blossom tree? That's some serious proof. Some guys give girls that they like those flower bouquets. I gave you a whole damn tree. I'd give you the forest too, if you want it. Just be ready to run from the Old Man when he finds out.

But a 'like' that strong isn't just 'like', right? Matter of fact, it's the cheesiest thing ever, but I think…

The fourth time I tell Lucy that I like her, I don't. It's way much more than that.

* * *

><p>"Lucy."<p>

"Yeah?"

"I… hm."

"You what? What's the matter?"

"It's just… It's more than like! I more than like you!"

She looks confused. "What the heck do you mean?"

I tell her the only way I can at this point. I kiss her again. She gives in more quickly than before. Lucy's eyes slip shut and she arches her neck to kiss back, and her other hand winds up on my back. My own hands are on her shoulders. One of them escapes, starts running along her neck with a mind of it's own.

She moans and the sound is amazing. Soft and sweet and perfectly, secretly Lucy. Lips come apart beneath mine and she's teaching me what we're both tring to learn as her tongue licks my bottom lip really shyly. I get it now. I let her breathe before starting again. This time I get what to do and my tongue slips into her mouth with no hesitation.

It's hot. It's so hot that it feels like I'm eating fire. Lucy whimpers when my tongue touches hers and she tugs my hair. I like it, and I accidentaly growl against her mouth. Kissing is crazy. Crazy and hot, and really hard to stop once you start. But I make myself remember what I'm trying to tell her. Suck her lower lip and notice the taste of some sticky, berry flavored lip gloss before moving down to kiss a spot on her neck. The scent there is ridiculous, something spicy-sweet that wasn't there before.

Lucy, you're _sexy_. I can hardly believe what I'm seeing. Your eyes are half-lidded and your staring right at me like I have no right to stop what I was doing. Your cheeks are blazing and your chest keeps rising and falling 'cause your breath is deep and rough. Your shirt's been pushed up some and your stomach is tight. Your belly button is sorta cute. I'm delirious enough that I wanna turn everything in my way to ash, 'till it's just your skin beneath me. I realize just what all of this is doing to me. Didn't plan on it but I'm hard all the same. Your fault though, for making me want you. I really do want you, Lucy. But first…

"Lucy. Hey. You know something? I think you were right." My voice sounds low, even to me.

"Right about what?"

"I might've lied a little bit. I don't like you. More than like isn't like at all."

"Really. So then what-"

"Love you, I think."

Lucy stares, and stares, and says nothing for what seems like forever. And then she grins at me before shouting, "Wait, you _think_?"

"Some convincing wouldn't hurt." I'm getting brave now. Hands are high up on Lucy's torso, just beneath her breasts. I've touched 'em before when I transformed into her. They were really something. Way soft. Heavy too; one day I'll ask her how she carries them around without falling over. But I bet if I touched them now, the reaction would be totally different. These are Lucy's, after all, and I bet she's never let anyone touch the real thing before.

"N-Natsu, I-"

"It's okay. I won't if you don't want me to." As much as I want to I would never touch Lucy without her say-so. Never.

She sighs. "No, it's not that. I just… you _want _to touch me?"

"I just spent how long learning to kiss you?"

"Learning? That was your… first kiss."

"Yeah, so? It was yours too wasn't it?"

"How would you know?"

"Because I do, that's why. I'm right, aren't I?"

"Idiot!" she cries. Why are you so loud? "Don't claim to know and then ask me anyway! It's stupid!"

"So I was right. Good. And yeah, of course I want to touch you. Is that wrong?"

"No. But you never seemed even a little interested in me this way before… that's all."

That makes me chuckle. "Isn't it a good thing that I fell for _you_ and _then _your body? Geez. You really are an impossible freak, Luce. By the way, does this mean that I can touch you or not?"

"Well what do you think?"

I think I just hit the huge, squishy, mountain of a jackpot called your chest, Luce.

"Mm!" It's a small moan that shakes her whole body as her eyes squeeze shut. I run my hand along her breasts like one wrong move will be the end of me (and who knows, it might). I can see her nipples pressed against the shirt, two little targets that are just begging for Natsu to come and get 'em.

The next moan is louder and longer. I'm busy pinching Lucy's nipples, caught up between flicking them carefully, listening to her voice, and breathing in that delicious scent that she's giving off. The only way to describe the difference is this: normally she just smells really nice, while right now she smells really desperate, like she _wants_ this.

Another growl rumbles in my chest. She wants this. Lucy wants this; hell, she wants _me_. Lucy, who is way more innocent than she lets on. Lucy, who's never been touched like this before by anyone. Lucy, who's biting her lip and tossing her head while my hands crawl beneath her shirt and finally slip it over her head.

Damn. They look even bigger when they aren't covered by clothes. Her nipples are rosy against her pale skin. I chuckle, 'cause it reminds me of an ice cream sundae. The cherries on top of a (really enormous) pile of vanilla ice cream. But she must've taken my laugh the wrong way because she covers them up with her hands and looks away again.

"Stop being shy," I hold her hands and lead them to her sides. She squeaks at me and freezes when I hold her chin and kiss her once. "You're beautiful, Lucy," I finally give in and tell her out loud.

"R-really?"

There's a look in her eyes like I've really become her everything, and I can't take it anymore.

"_Duh_." The growl is fierce and our kissing is more so. Lucy seems less afraid now, pressing close while I multitask and take hold of her breasts again. I smother the tips with my thumbs and the cry makes me throb.

"That feel good?"

"Mmhm!"

"Lucy, that's not an answer." Yeah, I'm being a little evil teasing her like this. So what?

"N-Natsu!"

"Yeah? You can't be shy, remember? Does _this_," meaning, rolling the tips between my thumb and index finger, "feel good?"

"_Yes_!"

"Good." I reward the answer with my mouth, sucking on a nipple real gently, only just letting my fangs touch the skin. The taste is so good that it isn't one at all. Something that's partly real and partly imagined with the help of all of this need. Something made up of salt and her scent and the heat of her body, and the way that I want her.

"Ahh…!" That keen is the best yet, and all I had to do was flick my tongue against her again and again.

Who's opposite-sex-challenged now, huh, Gray?

I'm getting impatient, drawn to a molten sort of smell that's pooling at her thighs. Kissing my way down, I make sure to taste everywhere- her stomach, her bellybutton- I even stop to nip at her hipbone.

She scares the hell outta me when I reach the hem of her skirt, though, and she says, "Wait a minute!"

"What? What'd I do?"

"Well… Aren't you going to take something off, too? I don't wanna be the only one that's totally naked!" Yep. An unsurprising thing for her to say.

"Oh, no, I've made the Princess angry." I'm imitating Virgo. Lucy doesn't seem to find it very funny. "Are you going to punish me by stripping me?"

"Eh?"

"Well? I took your shirt off, right? Fair is fair. I'll be good," I wink at her and she pouts at me.

"Fine!"

Who would've thought that she would attack me? She does. Sits up and does that exactly. I can tell that it takes a lot of courage on her part to pretend that she isn't yanking my vest off, and I hold in my laugh. Wouldn't want to insult her. The laugh escapes me anyway though, 'cause once she does that she's staring at my body with a dizzy look on her face. Guess I'm hot in more ways the one, huh, Lucy.

"You goof. Here." Small hands are now pressed to my chest and Lucy squeaks again.

"Uh, Lucy. What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. But you…"

"Yeah…"

"YouhaveareallynicebodyNatsu!"

"Er… what was that?"

She coughs and her blush surpasses red. It's closer to plum now. "You have a really nice body, Natsu. There. I said it."

"And you didn't die from saying it, either. Thanks, Luce. You really think so?" Maybe she's not expecting for me to grin at her.

"I do." Her fingers trail all the way down, making a circuit over my abdomen and stomach and then back up to trace the length of both of my arms. That's all she does; nothing particularly naughty, but it still makes me shiver.

"Feel good?" She quotes me with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah. You think I'm hot, though. Ha."

"I never said that!"

"You might as well have. What, you don't think I'm hot?"

"What-?"

"What 'smart' word would you use… ah, _appealing_?"

"Quit it!"

"How about plain ol' sexy, then?"

"Natsu!"

"Wow, Luce. That much denial is kind of insulting. I think I'm gonna cry now."

"Huh?"

I love to laugh with, and a little bit at, Lucy. How can I not when she acts so naïve?

"Kidding. You don't have to say it if you don't want to," I kiss her cheek. "But it'd be pretty cool if you wrote me a novel about it."

"A novel about how I think that you're sexy." Ha! It might be sarcasm, but she still said it. Sucker!

"Lucy thinks I'm sexy, Lucy thinks I'm sexy~," I sing just for her. It works, too: she's half-heartedly pounding her fists against my chest and wailing, "Stop it!"

"You do, though, don't you? You can't say it just once?"

I kiss her neck again.

"No."

The spot between it and her shoulder.

"Please?"

A lick against her throat.

"Nu-uuhh…"

Her breasts are pressed to me while I nibble her collarbone and then work my way up to her mouth, stop, and ask again "Please, Luce?"

"I think you're sexy…" she exhales quietly. She's blushing everywhere, eyes almost glowing with the rest of her as she stares at my mouth. "So give me a kiss, okay?"

As if you really have to ask.

We're right back where we started again, but it's even better this time. I'm getting good at it even faster than she is. Sure, I may be panting a little, but she's the one groaning while I suck on her tongue. That and threading her hands on my hair, tugging again, and pressing herself as close as she possibly can. FYI, Lucy, I think you have a hair pulling kink, or fetish, or whatever. I'll remind you of it later.

To my surprise she doesn't stop me when I slide my hands along her back to trace her spine, letting them rest on her rear. Yep. Just as I thought. Really nice ass, Lucy. In fact, keep eating whatever it is that you already do.

"Nnnh," she moans against my ear and I really don't think Lucy knows what she's doing when she moves against me in a way that has me grinding against her stomach. I almost forgot that a cock isn't just a man's pride. It's something that would really like to feel that again, Lucy, if you don't mind.

"_Fuck_." She lets me rub against her again and even that little bit of friction makes me lose it.

"You swore," she giggles quietly. "Does it really feel that good?" Now Lucy's peeking down at the front of my pants like it's the most magical thing she's ever seen. Only you would stare at a boner like it's the greatest discovery you've ever made, Luce. How can I not love someone as stupidly cute as that?

My answer is all-business. Rough. "I can give you an idea. Lemme take this off. Can I?" A tug at her skirt and she's gone all embarrassed on me again.

"S-Sure. Let me take my shoes off, first, though. You might as well do the same."

"Ah, ah. I'm not Gray you know. If you wanna see me strip it's gonna cost you."

"Oh, _really_."

"Yup."

"You know you're half naked as it is, right?" Both of her boots hit the floor with a 'thunk' while she starts working on her stockings. Someone is a little more eager than she's letting on, eh? Not that I have an issue with that.

"So what? That just makes me a hell of a lot smarter than he is if you ask me. I can be naked _and _make some cash."

"How surprisingly astute of you."

"Glad you noticed," I chuckle. "I'll give you a special discount, though. Sound interesting?"

Lucy bats her lashes like she does when she _thinks_ that she's seducing someone. "What kind of discount?" Nice. She's losing that fear and playing along now.

"Say it back."

"Hmn?"

"You know! What I said! You have to say it back, but only if you mean it. I won't do anything else unless you do."

It takes all of four seconds for it to go off in her head before she's smiling. "Natsu, you're way more _cute_ than you are sexy."

"Hey!" I wish I could say that I'm not pouting at her now, but I am. So what?

"I love you too," she hugs me so tight that she's toppled me over so that I'm sitting with her in my lap. "I loved you _first_, remember? You were just too stupid to notice."

"Who cares if you loved me first? I bet I can love you _more_." I purr up at her, and she's the prettiest thing, this silly girl that means the world to me, joy and smiles and curves like no one else's, in nothing but a ruffly white skirt.

"I think I'd like to bet on you, then," she says into my neck, and that's absolutely the most I can handle.

I want you right now, Lucy. I don't wanna have sex with you; that sounds way too… I dunno. Stupid. I don't want to, er, fuck you, either. That's not what this is. I don't want to make love to you, 'cause seriously, that makes no freakin' sense at all. I can't _make _love, and I can't make it _to _you. Whoever made that up was drunk, a girl, or both.

Maybe there are no good words for something like this. The best way to put it is that I want to have you, but want you to have me the same way. There. That sounds about right. I guess that's why you're the writer, Lucy. You're better with words than I am. But I know that I'm better with action, and the moment, it's not such a bad trade-off.

I didn't think that kissing could be borderline dangerous, but it sure as hell is. I'm making sure not to cut Lucy's lips with my sharper-than-normal canines while we go at it again and again. The sound we make every time we come apart is this loud wet 'pop' that's hotter than I would've guessed. I'm tugging her nipples again and her moans are drowned out in all of it until her hips grind down and make me buck into her.

"Natsu, the skirt…" she pleads with me. Begs. I'm way ahead of her, tugging it off untill it reaches her ankles. Thank god it has no buttons and that I didn't let loose and burn it off. She'd kill me.

Today's panties are blue with little yellow stars on them. Starry panties on a celestial mage. Only you, Luce. Seriously.

I know it's my turn now and apparently so does she. I haven't said a sigle word; Lucy decides to unbuckle my waistcoat, and then tugs at my pants like they're her worst enemy. She's quick about tossing my sandals and pulling them off. Unlike me she decides that my underwear are worth laughing at out loud. They've got fire balls on 'em. It's me we're talking about here; is that really so shocking!

The earlier push is returned, carefully though, so that she's laying on her back again. My thumbs are asking 'pretty please?' while they trace the hem of Lucy's panties. She looks scared again.

"You can trust me, Lucy. You know that right?"

"You won't laugh?"

"What the- no, I won't _laugh_. Promise."

"This is embarrassing…"

"No. It's just you, Lucy. Just more of you. So can I, please?"

A nod is all it takes.

This 'more' of Lucy is a neat little patch of curls as gold as the hair on her head, and more pink. Lots more pink. It looks like lips, or a flower made of flesh, or something, but this is _it_. I'm am definitely gaping at Lucy Heartfilia's… um… well, you know. That place that only I'll ever get to see, Lucy's most secret part; the place that'll let me make her mine.

It's wet down there and the scent is driving me insane. I really can't describe it anymore. That's just how ridiculously good it is. How truly Lucy this one bit of her is.

"You're staring," comes a high-pitched peep, and I have to keep her thighs from closing together.

"And you're interrupting me. Relax. You're perfect."

"Natsu…"

"Hm?"

"Really love you," she croons as she closes her eyes and sighs so hard that her chest bobs a little.

Yeah. I know. I finally know.

I kiss the inside of her thigh and let it rest on my shoulder before running fingers along her. This slit that all the men in the guild think is one of the best things to ever happen to Earthland. But this is the best thing to ever happen to me, so I think I'll be the one to judge.

There's this little bit, almost like a button, right at the top, and Lucy cries out when I touch it. Nearly screams when I press my thumb to it. If I recall correctly this weird little thing is called a 'clit'. What a funny word. And what a sensitive little thing it is. Even blowing a little air over it makes Lucy squirm like crazy. So when I lean in and lick it carefully, she screams like she's gonna die.

"NATSU!"

"WHAT?"

"That! There!" The blush on my face feels more like my own flames. Thighs go even further apart and I know that Lucy's lost it when her hips rise up to try and meet my mouth. Lucy wants me to lick her there, and I'm not expecting it. I'm not, but I love that lost look in her eyes and the way her body is shaking, and the way she's not asking, but _demanding_ that I do it again.

So why shouldn't I?

I lick her once, twice, again and again. 'Till my lips are soaked in all of the wet down there and she's chanting my name like it's a magic spell. Might as well be. This is pretty damn magical if you ask me.

"Natsu, Natsu, Na-_ahhhh_! Mmm, Natsu…!"

I give her a little suck and a quick flick of my tongue and enjoy the scream. I don't mind her being loud like _this_. The more I listen the more I remember that I'm still hard and only getting harder. Her ability to make me forget must be a talent in and of itself.

"Yeah?"

"Don't want… ugh…"

"What?"

"Don't want you to stop… more, _please_…"

"You're being greedy, Luce." Wow. I sound like I just came back from a fight. "Show me what you want."

"B-But-!"

"Show me and I'll give it to you. Whatever you want. Anything." In other words, you've picked a really bad time to forget that I'm just as inexperienced as you are. So help me out a little. Throw me a bone, or- whoa. Alright, that works, too.

She snatches my hand and puts it right over a certain spot that feels as though a little pressure is all it would take to press through.

She wiggles her hips and mewls at me. Mewls, like a giant blonde cat in heat, and I'd be lying if I said that the sound wasn't sexy. 'Cause it is. Very.

"Inside. But… be careful, 'kay? Slowly."

Be careful. Slow. Do _not_ imagine yourself pounding Lucy into the next century- well, fuck. Too late for that, huh.

It's one finger first. Just one. Is everyone this hot on the inside? It's insane. Really impossible. Hotter than any fire in ways I can't explain. Like a soft, warm spot made of muscle that really doesn't want to let go. Thinking about being in here makes me shiver. Makes me hump the couch a little, too, 'cause imagining it is driving me nuts.

Lucy winces a little and I do exactly what she asks. I go slowly. I pump it in and out, nice and easy, and she gives me weak whines the whole time.

"Uhh.."

"You okay? This any good?"

"Yeah. Yeah, just- _Ohh_!"

Bingo. I found something awesome. Hell if I know what it is, but it feels different from the rest of her. I twist my finger aginst it again and she sobs.

"Here, huh…"

"Yes! Natsu, it's _good_! _S-So good_!"

"Yeah?" I add another finger and the way she flexes inside makes me moan. Lucy is thrusting up to my fingers. She's humping them, really, and it's so hot and wet that I'm wondering if this is some sort of joke. A wet dream sent from hell to punish me for destroying so much crap. Thankfully the girl biting her lips and grabbing my neck and impaling herself on my hand isn't a dream. More like a crazy fantasy come to life.

"Natsuuu… ahh, come _on_."

I can barely speak. "Tell me what you want."

"Stupid! _Don't tease **now**_!"

"Not teasing. Going crazy, Luce. Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you, but don't make me guess. I _can't_."

Lucy seems to be out of words. She's opting for my way, now- action. Her hands tug my boxers. I get it. She wants me to unleash _that_ dragon. Alright, so maybe now's _not_ the time to try and be funny, since my weak grin makes her pull the strap until it snaps against my stomach. Easy, Lucy!

"Hey! Gimme a sec, geez…" I mumble. It's my turn to be embarrassed. Lucy's gonna see me naked. Completely naked. What if it freaks her out or something?

I pull the boxers off over my knees and kick them away. I think they land on top of her shirt.

"Um," I glance at her face, peek really, and it's like… like looking at my cock just knocked the wind out of her or something. I wish I could say that I'm absolutely sure of myself but I'm not. That face is making it impossible. At least until Lucy licks her lips and her breathing goes haywire again, chest looking way too inviting, and she stutters, "B-big…"

That one little word makes me throb, a quick tap against my own stomach. That's how hard I am at this point. I've got no more up left to go to. All that's left, hopefully, is in. And out. And in and out, endlessly, until Lucy learns just how much I really love and need her.

This time the way she bats her lashes at me is unbelievably seductive. She pats the spot beside her and I'm there, above her, no questions asked. At least not until her hand wraps around me, palm-first on the head of my cock. Too hard, too soft, too much-

"Fuck, Lucy. Lucy, that's-!"

"I know."

She's barely stroking me but it really is more than I bargained for. I've heard that letting a girl use her mouth there is the best, but I wouldn't dream of that now. The mental image of Luce's smooth lips on my cock just makes me move my hips even harder.

Harder still when she uses both hands and decides that thumbing the tip is a fun thing to do. It's embarrassing, extremely, that I choose now to keen like this, but _fuck_! She's teasing the slit and it's _so fucking good_!

"Natsu," she says suddenly, quietly, and her hand is slowing down. Why the hell is your hand slowing down? Are you trying to kill me, Lucy?

"Uhhnn… w-what…?"

"What do _you_ want?" It's so sexy. No question that sexy should be allowed to sound so innocent and sweet and loving, dammit. Only Lucy could pull off such a thing.

No protest leaves her when I let my waist fall lower. Out of her hands and onto her, there, and it's funny how the tip of my cock and her clit are almost the same shade of deep pink. Weird. But wet and slick and so _nice_.

"Lucy… God, Lucy. I love you. Want you. Wanna be inside you so bad," I confess to to her. "Wanna make you feel the same thing…"

"I want that too," she barely whispers. Her heart must be beating at some insane pace because I can hear it. Mine too. "Be gentle, Natsu. Don't hurt me _too_ much."

I manage a laugh. We're both scared as hell, but whaddya know. Lucy is smiling at me.

"You're stupid…"

"Yeah. You too."

"I love you."

"Love you more."

"Never."

She giggles. "Always."

"Ready?"

"Mmhmm…"

And that's it. I'm pretty sure I'm dead. Nothing in my entire life has ever felt so good, so I figure I must be. It's hot. Hot, tight, squeezing, pulling, _everywhere_. Absolutely everywhere, and I know that if I'm not dead that I'm at least going insane right now. There's this weird something in the way that I just don't get, but Lucy's words echo in my head, 'slowly', so I push through it just like that. It's like opening the door to an inferno that I bury myself into inch by inch, and it takes a small sob on Lucy's part to wake me up.

Shit. I'm making you cry, Lucy. Why is it that you're making me feel amazing and not feeling that way yourself? That's not what I wanted this to be like!

"What's wrong?" I try my best not to move when I ask her because even though I'm not moving, Lucy's interior is. Constantly. Close to one hundred degrees of velvet pulsing around my cock is by no means easy to ignore.

"It just hurts a little, that's all. You… took it, you know?"

"Took it?"

"Virginity, Natsu…"

"I didn't take it! You let me have it! You gave it to me, didn't you?"

Lucy Heartfilia. Seventeen, beautiful, and capable of hysterical fits of laughter even when enduring having me inside of her for the first time. Someone give my girl an award. My girl, huh? Yeah… she definitely is.

"N-Natsu!" she laughs like an idiot. I only say that cause every laugh makes her tighten even more around me, and she doesn't seem to realize that. "Dumbass, yes, I gave it to you! Relax, alright? Haha…" She wipes away her own tears. I try not to pout again, but I kinda wanted to do that bit myself.

"Not funny, Luce."

"It is, though. Natsu the virginity thief. I guess that makes me one, too, though… right?"

Another stupid blush. "Yeah. You are."

Another shy question. "What's it feel like?"

I answer right away. "Unbelievable."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"You too. It hurts a little, but… it's hot, and deep… full. I'm full of Natsu."

Lucy, please. Please stop talking or I'm going to lose it!

"Aren't you supposed to… move?"

Holy hell, _can I_?

"Um. I-is that okay?"

She nods, "Mmnhm. Never thought you'd do this."

"Do what?"

"This. Love me, I think."

I slide my hips back a tiny bit and then press back inside, careful, getting her used to the idea.

Lucy, I'm about to love you until you can't stand it and your screaming it for the whole fucking guild to know.

A whimper is all I get out of her, but not a bad one. A good one. A 'feel free to up the ante' one. It's a tentative thing, elongating the strokes and gauging Lucy's reaction while she's clutching my back and running her nails along my spine and making it really hard to not come as early as they say all first-timers do. Screw the statistics. If I can get up after being beaten to a bloody pulp then I can figure out how to do this and get her to come, first.

It's to the point where I'm a few inches in and out at a time when my hips shift up and Lucy looks like she's in heaven. I'm my girl's heaven, and it damn well deserves a growl and a kiss and a deep, celebratory grind.

"Again," she pants, and I don't need to be told twice. The head is all I keep inside of her before slowly pressing everything back in and listening to her little groan escalate into this crazy, pleasured scream. My patience is gone. It's on, Luce. Me and you and _this- _my name on your lips and this feeling, _fuck_, this feeling that won't stop rising and falling and making me say your name into your ear.

"_Natsu_!"

"Lucy. Lucy, Lucy, _Luce_…!"

"_Mmh_! R-really _close_- _there_!"

"Come on," I rasp against her and sneak a hand below to where this mind-numbing _Lucy _is, rubbing the clit and making the screams hit octaves as high as the sky. I'm just good like that, you know? Whatever it takes as long as it's for her.

"Natsu," she's tossing her head from side to side like she's losing it. I know she is. She's tighter than the most desperate fist I've ever made around myself. Tighter and better and just everything, everything. "Natsu! K-Kiss..!"

"Mmph!"

She comes while I kiss her. I flick my thumb against her just right, press in just so, and she tears her mouth from mine and nearly makes me go deaf, and I love it.

"**_Naatsuu_**!"

Lucy is trying to choke my lower half. She clenches so much that it pulls me in just a bit more deeply than I thought possible, and my not-rhythm becomes that entirely as I give her everything I can manage. Lucy holds me, still muttering my name in a voice so soft and spent that the sweat and fire and urge to go on forever is finally snuffed out. I'm gone. I'm spilling into her, hot and thick and yeah, I have to be going blind, 'cause the whole house just went white, then black, and then rainbow.

When I come to, I'm resting on Lucy. Her chest is just like a pillow, but way cozier. And warmer, too.

"Hey," she looks down at me. How can she still _talk_?

"Lucy."

"Mmmhm?"

"I'm freakin' tired…"

"Same."

"Go to sleep."

"You're heavy…"

Yeah, yeah. I pull out of her (and believe me, the thought of babies won't cross my mind 'till the morning, when I thank wizard-kind for whatever stupid potion she ensures will keep that from happening) and find a way to make that couch fit us side by side. I'm not leaving her breasts. Sooo warm and soft…

"Night, Natsu," she yawns while tossing a leg over my hip.

I kiss her collarbone and she sighs. I stroke her hair and in minutes flat, she's asleep. She snores, but it's so light that it's cute. I don't think I'm gonna tell her that she snores, at least not right away. Who knows when that'll come in handy.

After this, every time that I tell Lucy, 'I like you', it's an 'I love you'. And it only took me three tries to get it right.

* * *

><p>"Natsuu, I'm home, guess- GYUH!"<p>

* * *

><p>Tommorow, Lucy and I find a very smug looking Happy fixing us all some breakfast, singing "I kneeew it~! He liiiiked you~! You diiiid it~!"<p>

Damn straight, little guy. And I'd do it again.

That was only once, after all, and I happen to know for a fact that the third time's the charm.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> The end. Hope you liiiiked~ it! ;)

(P.S: Thanks in advanced for any reviews. Love ya, random anons and kind opinion-givers! I'll try to be good and answer whatever questions you all might ask...)


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